Major food and drink deals event brings Scottish producers together with national buyers

More than 200 people from across the Scottish food and drink industry came together in Perth yesterday for a series of face-to-face deals meetings with potential buyers from national retail, foodservice and wholesale industries. Designed to build relationships, introduce new products and secure future business, the Sourcing Scotland event was hosted by Scotland Food & Drink.

Buyers present included 64 representatives from major retailers and wholesalers including Brakes, Morrisons, Spar Scotland, Scotmid and Mark Murphy, all of whom committed to widespread access to quality, sustainable and locally produced Scottish products. 68 producers were in attendance from all over Scotland including Annandale Distillery, Maclean’s Highland Bakery, Orkney Ice Cream and The Scottish Bee Company. 

The latest Provenance Perceptions research from the Scotland Food & Drink Knowledge Bank showed that 82% of Scots would like to buy food and drink produced in Scotland more often when grocery shopping , driving demand throughout the supply chain. 

Marie-Clare James, from Belhaven Smokehouse based in Dunbar was one of the businesses that attended the event to reach new markets and grow their business. She said: “Sourcing Scotland has been a brilliant event for us to meet new potential buyers and also get the chance to catch up with some of our existing customers. Events like this are really time efficient, which is so important to smaller businesses. The set up is great and the 15 minute meeting slots mean that you get the chance to meet a variety of different customers in one day, under one roof.” 

Iain McCallum, Buying Manager at Morrisons, said: "It was a fantastic event which brought together a whole plethora of Scottish suppliers under the one roof.  The 'speed-dating' element was a great success and I'm hopeful that I've come away with a number of longer-term relationships as a result.  Being able to see and share the passion of the suppliers and hopefully play a part in helping their businesses grow contributed to a wonderful atmosphere."

Iain Baxter, Chief Executive of Scotland Food & Drink, said: “Sourcing Scotland plays a unique and vital role in providing a platform for Scottish producers to have face to face time with major buyers, build new relationships and create sales. Our sector has faced some challenging years but it is fantastic to see the enthusiasm and innovation taking place in businesses all over the country. 

“Our national strategy is targeting sustainable growth in the sector. With over 250 meetings taking place yesterday in Perth, hopefully resulting in even more fantastic Scottish food and drink products on our shelves and menus, Sourcing Scotland is an important part in realising the ambition of our strategy.”

For more information on Sourcing Scotland, please visit: https://foodanddrink.scot/sourcing-scotland